


Snow Mary and Her Seven Dolls

by aBeautifulWorld



Category: Ib (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Maybe - Freeform, Snow White AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-08 22:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7775308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aBeautifulWorld/pseuds/aBeautifulWorld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angels and demons, dolls and ribbons... a princess driven out of her own kingdom finds refuge in an unexpected place, meets unexpected people and learned several important things: appearances can be deceiving, think before you act and take care of the people you love. Snow White AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Angels, Demons and Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for 52, I had so much fun with this idea I wanted to make a full fic out of it. There will be three chapters! :3 Writing a proper AU is surprisingly difficult, and a Snow White AU is even worse LOL. It's not going to follow the fairy tale exactly, but I hope it'll be enjoyable nonetheless. The beginning has been altered slightly from the version in 52 (more details, fixed some grammar and weird sentences too). Happy reading x

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to split up this story into 3 parts. While editing this thing is taking me forever, I'm really excited to share it, so this seemed like the best solution :3 Writing a proper AU is surprisingly difficult, and a Snow White AU is even worse LOL. It's not going to follow the fairy tale exactly, but I hope it'll be enjoyable nonetheless. The beginning has been altered slightly from the version in 52 (more details, fixed some grammar and weird sentence too). Happy reading x
> 
> Warning! Some rather disturbing imagery in this chapter. And a LOT of blood.
> 
> Note: This chapter has been edited! I know the last version seeemed a little OOC but pls give this story another chance :3

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there lived a rather eccentric King and his small kingdom. He did not take a Queen, but he did have a beautiful Princess by his side instead. Despite his eccentricities and strange family circumstances, he was a fair ruler who was loved by his loyal subjects. His reign was peaceful, and he was known for his generosity with trade, appreciation for the arts and amicable ways.

The King was also a talented painter who possessed a magical paintbrush. With this instrument, he could wholeheartedly paint any object on a large canvas and it would come to life with a touch of his fingers. However, the price of this ability was a part of his soul and years off his lifespan, so he could only use it sparingly and covertly, lest it fall into the wrong hands. Very few knew of his secret.

Everyone admired the strange King, but he grew frail with time. As the years slowly passed, his health sharply declined until he could no longer even appear in court to hear the troubles of his people. Before he passed away, he bequeathed his kingdom and the secret paintbrush to his young daughter and only child, Snow Mary.

Snow Mary was a beautiful girl with long golden hair, ivory skin as fair as snow and eyes that reflected the sky. Many were envious of her almost unnatural beauty and resentful of her position of power despite her tender age. However, there was no one else to take over the throne. Many were unsatisfied, one of which included the Queen of Hearts, one of the old King's consorts and trade partners. A beautiful lady with ruby eyes and chestnut hair, she was so close to convincing the old King to marry her, and felt cheated out of a potential country to rule over. Her greed for wealth and power knew no bounds.

Fortunately for her, the Queen of Hearts was as patient was she was cunning. She visited the kingdom often and befriended the innocent and naïve Snow Mary at the time. Gaining the trust of the child, she slowly convinced her of raising taxes and implementing certain policies, making sure to disguise the fact that the citizens were suffering.

Unfair laws and bad decisions shook the land while the Queen of Hearts benefited from all the unrest. She played her role well, soothing the child and comforting her when the other court advisers spoke harshly against her. She was the angelic, motherly figure in a big world ran by big, scary men with monstrous voices who only knew how to criticize, not to inform or help.

"Why do they hate me so?" Snow Mary cried, hugging the Queen of Hearts and sobbing her heart out. "I'm doing everything as you've told me."

"It's alright, child," she stroked the girl's hair, fighting back her victorious smile, "They'll come to see reason soon enough."

Although Snow Mary tried her best as a ruler, she was too immature and inexperienced to see things clearly. She didn't think about the long-term consequences and simply grasped at immediate solutions.

Despite the King being her father, she didn't think she belonged on the throne. For an entire year, her greatest wish was to escape the castle. The stress of ruling the kingdom consumed her, the longing to be free ran deep in her bones.

x

One day, things escalated too far.

The angelic, motherly figure suddenly turned demonic. During a meeting between foreign sovereign, the Queen of Hearts proved herself a formidable opponent and struck down the child. Every one of her faults were listed, every one of her terrible rulings and policies outed. Nothing was spared. The wolves that were waiting to pounce for an entire year joined in too.

"W-What?"Confusion and hurt coursed through her veins like fire, the betrayal felt like a stab to the chest. " _You_ told me to do those things..."

"What nonsense!" the Queen exclaimed. "I did no such thing! And even then, it is _your_ responsibility to make decisions for this land. Have you not already survived thirteen winters? Are you still not capable of ruling a nation?"

Snow Mary was heart broken.

Soon after, the Queen of Hearts invaded and took over her kingdom. Deemed unfit to rule, Snow Mary was cast out of her own country and hunted down for her heart. She had little time to act or pack, grabbing only her most precious possessions, her beloved blue doll and the secret paintbrush, and escaped with the clothes on her back.

Although her father had instructed her on how to use the paintbrush, he had warned her sternly not to use it too much or too often or for too trivial of matters. She was not as skilled at illustrations as her father either, and could only draw her dolls and a limited number of other things.

What the Queen, her people and even Snow Mary herself didn't know was that she was an extraordinarily gifted child. She was quite easily stranger than her own father. Escaping into the forest, she stumbled onto one of the kingdom's huntsmen as she recognised from his uniform, a burly man with a sharp glinting knife in his hand.

She took a step backward, and he took a step forward. She tripped and stumbled to the ground.

"Please…" she whispered, unaccustomed to begging. "Please, please don't. Please, spare me…"

"I'm sorry, your Highness," he quietly answered, getting closer to the girl on her knees, weapon aimed at her chest. "There's a hefty reward out there for your heart, and my family have not eaten for two days."

She clutched her doll closer to her chest and tried to keep the paintbrush out of his sight, even then. Panic gripped through her and she raised her voice. "So you'll just kill me?! Have you no shame pointing that weapon to me?!"

The huntsman took in a deep breath to calm himself and enclosed his hand around her neck, grasping it tight and lifting her off the ground. Her doll and paintbrush fell to the ground. She thrashed around in his hand, trying desperately to escape. "You drove us to this. There's nothing else I can do."

Fear and panic suddenly faded away and her rage completely seized her.

"You'll murder Royalty for a few gold coins?!" she hissed out.

His grip slackened and he sneered, tossing her back onto the ground, getting fed up very quickly. "Those few gold coins will do me more good than you ever were on the throne this past year."

As soon as those words left his mouth, he immediately regretted it. Something in her snapped. She started giggling softly, then hysterical laughter filled the air and the ever so dainty, innocent and naïve Snow Mary completely lost it. She clutched at her sides, trying to hold in her laughter as she sat up. Staring at him in a daze, the girl gave him an angelic yet chilling smile.

"You want my heart? Go on, take it. I don't need it anymore, I don't want to feel anything anymore. My father left me and the person I called my mother deceived me. I tried my best but it wasn't good enough. So go ahead, obey the Queen's orders, loyal huntsman. Claim your reward."

He took a step back, alarmed at he sudden change in her demeanor. She scoffed, her expression twisting viciously in anger.

"Why are you scared?" Snow Mary stood and staggered to him. She took the hand holding the knife and aimed it at her own chest. The huntsman cowered at the crazed look in her eye. "Take it, God damn it! You wanted this didn't you? You're going to let your family starve? You're going to let another huntsman take your reward? Just go ahead and take my God damn h—"

He stabbed her in the chest.

She looked at him, looked down, then looked back up. He pushed her off as she grinned and quickly spun around, unable to bear the sight of her. He was frozen to the spot as she screamed in pain, listened to her thrashing on the ground until the noice came to an end. Waiting a few minutes more, guilt over his actions slowly settled in. As much as he tried to distance and justify himself, she was not an animal as he was used to, but a child.

Wiping a hand across his damp eyes shakily, the huntsman whispered a small prayer for his Princess. As soon as he approached the still girl lying in her own puddle of blood, she shifted. The man screamed and fell onto the ground. Snow Mary whined and panted, unsteadily propped herself up on her elbow. She struggled to get up, unable to bear the pain.

When their eyes met, she started giggling.

" _God Almighty,_ what are you?"

Finally, she managed to sit up and grin at him while still gritting her teeth. There was _so much_ blood, how was she still alive? Her dress was soaked, part of her long golden hair was now blood red and the gaping wound was still trickling and bubbling red, viscous liquid. The burly man turned away and vomited out his stomach contents.

He shook his head and cried in disbelief, "How are you still alive? Did you sell your soul to the devil? Are you the devil himself?"

She frowned at him, still panting from the pain. "How rude, I'm just a normal girl."

He prostrated in apology. "I'm sorry, so terribly sorry, please don't kill me! Please, have mercy!"

She scoffed again. "Like you did with me?"

"I'm so sorry, I just wanted to save my family. The Queen refuses to accept your death until she sees your heart, the proof of the deed. She won't believe anyone otherwise, and she won't call off the hunt until she does get it."

She was silent. He looked up to see her shakily dabbing a paintbrush on the puddle. Using the remaining clean part of her white dress as a canvas, the child painted and painted, gritting back her pain while the man could only stare at her in horror.

"W-What are you—?"

"Hold on, I'm almost done."

Snow Mary placed the paintbrush down and held her hand over the impromptu painting. A light glowed from the tip of her fingers as she concentrated. The painting slowly rose from her dress and hovered mid-air. It was a small, bloody thing, beating ever so weakly, but was surprisingly realistic.

"You're… giving that to me?"

She harrumphed, holding her chin up high. "Be grateful I'm feeling merciful, foolish human. Never tell a living soul about what occurred here and this will be key to both our salvation."

The huntsman mechanically crawled towards her to take her fabricated heart. He kept it in a jeweled box and put it in his knapsack. Giving the girl one last look, he turned his back to her and stood.

"The Queen of Hearts… her cruelty to her enemies rival the demons themselves. Please, for both our sake, run as far away as possible and never come back."

The girl slowly stood, wobbling, light-headed, vision slightly blurred. "I don't intend on returning."

Running away as fast as he could, he did not see the wound on the girl's chest rapidly closing back, leaving behind unblemished skin. Snow Mary touched the area in amazement herself. She had taken a gamble playing along with the man's fears, but it had seemed to work.

Her insides still hurt, but at least she could move again. She set off, grabbing her two possessions, leaving behind the bloody splatters on the ground and foliage, the only evidence of their remarkable encounter.

X

Even though she continuously stumbled across tree roots and tumbled down steep areas, Snow Mary walked and walked until she could walk no further. Her chest finally stopped hurting after two days. When dusk came, she slept in the trees, fearful of the woodland animals. Even if she healed quickly, the wounds were just as excruciatingly painful. When dawn arrived, she continued walking. The child was so hungry, eating any nuts and fruits and berries that she saw along her path. Severe stomach cramps slowed her journey even more.

Finally, when the fourth day of walking was coming to a close, the young child stumbled upon a homely little cottage. The doors were not locked, not a soul was in sight, so she cautiously entered the house. It was a little messy, but very warm and cosy. There was all sorts of food set on the table that made her mouth water, a plate of bread and cheese with fresh fruits on the side and hot soup in the pot on the stove. She helped herself, not having eaten for several days, then explored the rest of the house.

It was much smaller than what it looked like outside. There was an area for cooking, and the table seemed to double as a place for eating and studying, judging by the crammed bookshelves nearby. There was a small area dedicated to sewing, with different types of colourful materials scattered about in a disheveled heap and half-finished dresses being hung on the chairs that were probably for the diner table.

The floor above contained only a bed and chest of drawers, enough room for one person to walk around comfortably. The bed looked extra soft and ever so tempting, and Snow Mary was weary from all her travelling. She hoped the owner was a kind and understanding old lady and crawled under the covers.

Warm and well fed, the girl quickly fell into a deep slumber.


	2. Friends, Dolls and Ribbons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A guest reviewer commented that Snow Mary felt very heavily altered from the game's Mary, so I went back and fixed up a few things, especially the huntsman scene.

When she came to in the morning, the sweetest melody that Snow Mary had ever heard flitted about in the air. She turned around to find the source of the song to come face to face with the most beautiful man she had ever man sweeping the floor and singing to himself. He abruptly stopped when he noticed her staring and jumped, giving a little shriek. She hid further into the covers.

He took a moment to calm himself, chuckling in embarrassment. He gave a little nod and stepped closer, but kept his distance.

"You're a strange intruder," he greeted her, smiling radiantly. She could feel her face on fire. "Breaking into my house, eating my food and then sleeping in my bed. And you don't look the least bit sorry about it."

So the owner of the quaint little cottage was not a kind and understanding old lady, but a kind and understanding yet slightly strange man with purple hair like a flower and a gentle voice.

When she finally climbed out of bed, he released another ear-splitting shriek at her appalling state of dress. He immediately ran back downstairs to draw her a warm bath. The Princess felt slightly insulted at his reactions, as she took pride in her own appearance. She did try to clean herself off when she found a river on the third day of walking, and only found his cottage because she followed it.

When the strange man was out of sight, Snow Mary rushed back to bed to check on her sparse belongings. She gave a sigh of relief when she discovered them untouched. Tearing a little hole between the back of her doll's neck and body, she slipped the paintbrush into the stuffing, making sure it wasn't visible at all.

She was nervous about her sudden change in good fortune, but accepted his kindness nonetheless.

The child later found out the strange man was named Gareth, but he insisted she called him Garry. He was the youngest son of a poor carpenter who ran away from home as his parents didn't approve of him being a dressmaker. He had found the abandoned cottage a few years back after he had run away and fixed it up himself.

He apprenticed under a famous dressmaker in a famous city despite it being far away, though he didn't mention the name. Garry claimed it took at least an hour by horseback, usually much more. He came back to the cottage every week or so, lodging being expensive in the city where his master resided. Otherwise, he would sleep in the work studio as he usually worked until late at night.

"It's not easy," he explained cheerfully while accompanying her for breakfast, "The master works me to my bones, but I'm still rather happy about the whole thing. I just wish my parents would come around and see how happy I am. It's been a while since I've seen them. Ah, that's right, where are your parents, Snow Mary?"

She had told him nothing but her name, and whenever he asked her a question she wasn't comfortable answering, she would ignore him and take another large bite out of the bread he set on her plate. He would wait, and she would ignore him until he gave up and ask another question.

"Erm… right…" he gave a nervous chuckle.

She would not correct him if he thought she was an orphan or a runaway or both. They were half-truths after all.

Snow Mary found him slightly overbearing with how chatty and _loud_ he could be, but he also gave her food, a warm bath and his own bed freely without hesitation. Garry had even made her a simple dress out of some of his older clothes to replace her torn dress from the palace. He helped her brush her long golden hair and even styled it in a braid, something that made her feel much better. Even though he seemed to not know who she was, Garry treated her like royalty nonetheless.

The cottage was beautiful too, surrounded by many flowers both cultivated and wild. When he wanted to attend to his horse outside, he took her around to look at them. Snow Mary softly stroked the petal of one of the flowers and pricked her finger on a thorn.

"Are you alright?" Gareth had noticed and made his way over.

"It's fine," she murmured and stuck the finger in her mouth, grimacing at the metallic flavour. She quickly walked away before he could notice how quickly it healed.

Garry was a very gentle creature, even gentler than the Queen of Hearts during her pretense. Even though it had just been a few days, Snow Mary hadn't felt so content and at ease in such a long time, ruling the kingdom and worrying about how everything was just falling apart.

She still held her blue doll close, although Garry didn't seem very fond of it. He shrinked back when she placed it on the table during dinner and seemed to cringe in his seat.

"What's wrong, Garry?" she asked.

He hesitated before speaking. "You really like that doll, don't you?"

She proudly nodded, holding it up high like a trophy. "I made her myself."

x

Although her creepy doll scared him and Snow Mary herself was a strange and mysterious girl, Garry was quite fond of her. He was concerned about her situation after discovering her in his bed last night and the state of her dress when she got out of bed in the morning.

Whilst he knew practically nothing about her, he took a risk made a deal with the child.

If Snow Mary wanted to live in his cottage, she was more than welcome, but only if she was willing to learn how to do some housework and clean up once in a while. The girl nodded enthusiastically and wholeheartedly agreed. He breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Go and get your rest upstairs, I'll sleep down here. I've got plenty of blankets." Garry said, "I've got work tomorrow but I'll leave enough food for you to survive the day. I'll be back as soon as I can and then we can get started on those housework lessons, is that alright?"

She skirted around the table to give him a tight hug. He wondered what made her hug a man much, much older than her so easily. He hesitantly patted her shoulder back. "Thank you Garry, you're the best mother I've ever had."

"M-Mother?" A big blush bloomed on his cheeks, so she didn't think of him as a man at all. "I've known you for a day, I'm not sure if that's the right… erm…"

"Goodnight, Garry!" She raced off before he could finish his sentence. The man shook his head in amusement. There was much to do and a lot to learn, but it might be fun to have company for the first time in a long time.

"Goodnight, Snow Mary."

X

The first day went by surprisingly quickly without Garry.

In the morning, Snow Mary played with the woodland animals that seemed attracted to the cosy cottage and tried exploring as far as she dared. Being so far deep in the forest, she didn't see another soul in sight which both terrified and comforted her.

Indoors was rather boring as Garry had only books and his sewing area which he strictly prohibited her from tampering with. Most of the books were too boring or technical for her to read, but she did enjoy looking at his notebooks. He made beautiful sketches of dresses whether they were simple dresses like the ones he made for her or the intricate gowns she had seen at the Royal balls.

Garry had underestimated her voracious appetite for lunch and she had started foraging the berries outside for fun while waiting for Garry to come back. Painful stomach cramps haunted her in the late afternoon and the man was alarmed by the discovery when he rushed back at night.

"You… picked the berries outside, Snow Mary? Those are poisonous! Please don't ever do that again, I'm so sorry I didn't warn you! I thought I left enough food for you?"

She could only smile sheepishly and shrug her shoulders when he looked like he was about to cry.

Before he left the following day, he made sure to set out the portions for each meal and doubled the amount of food, despite the amount of money this new routine would cost him.

The second day was torture, dragging by far too slowly.

Snow Mary eyed the berries that Garry had warned her not to go near as she played with her doll outside. Feeling the "spine" of the doll, she decided to go against his advice. She gathered as many of the small shiny black berries as she could and crushed them in a wooden bowl she found in the kitchen.

She couldn't find any spare notebooks with empty pages and decided to use the walls as her canvas. Carefully taking the paintbrush out, she used it to swirl the clumpy, blue-black mess in the bowl and slowly started on her next piece of work.

She made sure it was small, no where near as big as her favourite doll and put in as much details as she could. Going outside to pick more colourful berries for her "paints", she added eyes and a dress and even styled the hair.

Satisfied with her work, Snow Mary touched the chest of the little doll drawing and slowly pulled it forward. The colours seem to follow her fingers and the doll tried to help pull out itself out of the wall too; chest first, then her head full of braided hair, then its arms and finally legs. Not a trace of the previous paint was left on the wall.

Snow Mary clapped her hands and cheered excitedly as the doll curtsied and danced cheerfully in front of her. A wave of dizziness washed over her, but she ignored it, far too high from the rush of excitement that overtook her.

She didn't have to worry about being lonely anymore.

X

After seeing his reaction to her favourite doll, she made sure he wouldn't find the other six. She had instructed them very carefully and strictly to hide when Garry was around, or he would kick them to the wall and rip their stomachs open. She didn't think he would do something so barbaric, but the dolls didn't have to know that.

The first thing Garry taught her was how to make smoke signals using the chimney just in case she was ever in trouble when he was away. He then proceeded with housework and eventually how to make simple soups and dishes for dinner. Sewing was next, mending her clothes when he was away seeing how active she was when she played and explored outside. He had even humoured her when she asked him how to make tiny clothes for her doll, reserving a small selection of cheap cloth for her to experiment with.

The seven dolls kept her company as she went about cleaning the house. Sometimes they caused trouble and gave her more work to do, even when they were trying to be helpful, but she liked to keep herself busy.

As Snow Mary became more and more independent, he felt more and more comfortable leaving her for longer periods of time, which meant that the dolls could come out and play more often. She put her skills to good use and made them little hats and dresses, sewing them booties and gloves too when she felt extra hardworking.

He questioned where all the material went but she would simply smile, ignore him and take another spoonful of soup. She made a contented noise and distracted him long enough with questions about his week at work and what he learnt until she made him forget he had ever asked.

She never wanted him to find out about the dolls, as it would lead to more questions and a story she never wanted to share. Snow Mary had found herself a home, was finally free to do as she please and explore to her heart's content.

However, the dolls eventually wanted to be friends with him too. They had forgotten her warnings and sneaked off from under her bed one night to jump on his tummy as he slept. Snow Mary woke up to a chilling scream and ran down the stairs, almost tripping, to find her worst nightmare come true.

"Snow Mary! What in God's name are those?!"

The girl couldn't speak as the six miniature dolls that she had fashioned seemed to enjoy attacking Garry, trying to lick and snuggle against the bewildered and terrified man. He was shockingly violent, seemingly almost ready to rip their body apart. Grabbing them roughly, Snow Mary flinched as he flung them off his body in any direction, some hitting the wall with a loud thump. One of them ended up in the fireplace.

X

They sat at the dinner table at three in the morning in silence. The miniature dolls as Snow Mary fondly called them danced and cackled in the background, playing with the spoons in the cabinets and throwing around Garry's pillows and blankets in the area where he slept.

"Snow Mary, you…" Garry couldn't finish his sentence. He hadn't even looked her in the eye since they shuffled to the kitchen, trying to make sense of what was happening. He must have put the pieces together though, as the miniature dolls look exactly like her favourite doll and they were wearing all of the cloth that he had gifted her with. "It looks like your sewing has improved."

Th girl perked up at that. "Really?"

He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, unable to broach the more important statements and questions. "Mmhm, I like the fine details on the red jacket that doll is wearing."

"Do you…" The child cleared her throat, unable to stand the tension any further. "Do you want me to leave?"

His head snapped up at that and he finally looked her in the eye. "No, absolutely not. You're family now. I didn't know anything about you when I asked you to stay, so this is my fault too. Can you just… explain all this to me, please? Are you…"

He paused. She waited.

"…Are you human?"

She flinched, remembering the huntsman. "I'm not the devil, if that's what you're asking."

"Then all these living dolls? Did you… make them? Breath life into them?"

She stayed silent and he sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. Snow Mary took a sip of the hot milk he had made for her and simply shrugged. A crash made them both turn their heads to the doll standing beside a small fallen bookcase. Garry turned to Snow Mary and groaned. The girl was at her wits end.

"I'll make them behave! Please don't make me or them leave!" she begged.

He gave another groan and rested his head against the table, completely exhausted. "No one is leaving."

"They're actually really nice! They keep me company, and play with me, and I have fun making them clothes and doing my work next to them!"

He gave her a sad look. "Are you lonely? Is this what all this is about? Do you want me to come home more often?"

She shook her head vehemently, knowing how tired he was from all the travelling during their earlier days as well as the amount of work he had to deal with during the day. "It's okay."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"I'll…" he flinched as one of the mini dolls jumped onto his lap. He quickly grabbed it and placed it on the table top, where it ran towards Snow Mary and jumped onto her, snuggling into the space between her neck and shoulder. He looked away. "I'll think of something. Go back to bed, it's too late and I have work in the morning."

"Thanks, Garry. "

X

The man was honest that night and was truly impressed with Snow Mary's level of detail in her handiwork. His grand solution to her loneliness came in the morning of the last day of the week as they set off for Garry's work studio. The girl was excited with everything that she saw, the wind in her long hair and the sunlight on her face. The journey was interesting but long, so she could now understand why Garry was always so weary by the time he came home.

The dress shop for Garry's workplace was incredible, full of elegant gowns fit for a Princess (such as herself) or other noblewomen that needed the best attire for their dinners and balls. The nostalgia that never hit her since she had left the palace came back as she remembered the beautiful events, although she was never allowed to fully participate in the more fun aspects.

The backroom was full of diligent women, scrunched up expressions on their faces as they tried their best to finish off the pile of dresses by their side. Garry was the only male amongst them, but he looked right at home, his fingers working quickly and efficiently. The seamstresses would chat occasionally, sometimes sing to themselves to lighten the mood, but everyone was hard at work.

They had stared at her when she first arrived but as soon as she finished curtsying, they resumed work.

"Don't take it personally, dear. They're on a tight schedule. We can have a good chat with them when we're all finish tonight."

She was instructed to sit quietly in a corner and observe, but she decided to sit right next to Garry as he worked to meet his quota, asking all sorts of questions. She wound him up very quickly, much to the amusement of the other women.

She took a long blue ribbon from the pile for one dress and used it to tie her hair back, intertwining it with her locks. "Look Garry, don't I look lovely?"

"Hm." He didn't even look up, purposefully ignoring her. The other women giggled amongst themselves. Snow Mary frowned and was about to take it out before a gentle touch on her hand stopped her. She gasped and spun around, only to come face to face with a hooded girl.

"She really does look lovely, Garry. Have a look."

At the soft and tinkling voice, Garry's head snapped up from the dress he was stitching and he immediately placed his work down.

"Ib!"

"My, my Gareth, you've got quite the harem surrounding you this fine day," one of the older seamstress drawled, making the other women guffaw at the big blush adorning the man's face. Garry ignored them and lead both of the girls out of the backdoor. "Don't slack off, young man! Come back soon!"

When they were a short distance away, the girl pulled back her hood and Snow Mary suppressed a gasp, hand clamped over her mouth and eyes wide. This person was a few years older, but as beautiful as a fresh rose. With ruby eyes and chestnut hair, she looked almost exactly like the Queen of Hearts.

Garry turned to her, huffing and putting both his hands on his hips. "Ib, should you really be out and about right now? And how did you get into the backroom?"

She placed her index finger over her lips and gave Garry a soft smile. He eventually melted at the sight and sighed at her cheekiness, turning over to look at Snow Mary.

"So you're free at the moment? Perfect timing, you can babysit my little sister and show her around the city." At the unexpected statement, Snow Mary flinched but said nothing. "Ib, this is Snow Mary."

Ib turned to Garry to give him a blank look. "Aren't you the youngest in your family?"

Snow Mary could detect the familiarity in her tone, clearly stating their attachment, and the softness in her eyes that let on more of her affection for the man than she probably realised. She was instantly jealous of Garry. He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"You caught me. She's really my cousin, but we're so close I think of her as my sister anyway," he quickly fibbed, "Snow Mary, this is Princess Eve, sister to the reigning monarch, the Queen of Hearts."

"Garry, what's with the fancy introduction?" she chastised. Turning to the younger girl, she curtsied low and gave her a sweet smile. "Just Ib will be fine."


End file.
